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Right now, I am just trying to eat well, keep in touch with my creativity(writing a lot), encourage my intuition to flow, do more yoga, mantras and dance, and get involved with more pregnant/nursing women and their families, and moms and kids in general, especially of like-minded lifestyle types... these things to me are rituals that drive me, and are particularly connected to this pregnancy.

I am planning to have a freebirth and looking for a natural setting along the CA coast or Pacific Northwest to do so.

Congrats on the pregnancy! I am two months along into my pregnancy. I have been doing the lfrv thing off and on, did it very religiously from january until march and then kind of fell off the wagon and went back to cooked vegan with a high percentage of raw. At first when I found out I was pregnant (first time for me!) I felt like I wanted to eat everything in the house. Although I have been eating vegan I am worried about eating crap that won't be good for my baby. So I decided to go back to doing the raw thing. I have some essene bread in the house that I'm probably going to finish up and some almond butter but other than that I want to go back to raw. What are some foods that you guys think would be important to include? I know that being pregnant we need a little more protein than the average woman. What does a typical raw day look like for you? I've also committed to doing 10 sun salutations a day, in addition to hoola hooping, my other usual exercise. I'm having my birth assisted by a midwife, and hope to breast feed, bed share and baby wear since I've read a lot of good stuff about that. Any info on raw foods that are great to include will be helpful to me!

This is my first pregnancy. I've just entered my third trimester. Doing mostly raw except for some steamed veggies when I crave for something comfy. Other than than pretty energetic. My doctor told me I am iron deficient so I am trying to eat more dates, apples and avocado and organic freshly squeezed OJ every morning. Wasn't a big fan of greens all my pregnancy. If someone is raw and pregnant please, reveal yourself. I hear so many things from my friends (who are far from being raw). According to them I am not supplying enough nutrients to my baby. It is very scary to hear

Do you know how many women are iron deficient during pregnancy, according to their doctors? Neither do I, but I know practically every woman I talk to has that issue. But I think it is usually a non-issue, remember deficiencies are judged by an average. It is basically just a survey.

How do your friends know you're not supplying enough nutrients to your baby? Do they know how many calories you're eating or what you eat every day?

If you're energetic, you're likely doing quite well.

By the way, thanks for joining Julia and Natasha. I'm a doula too and training to be a midwife. I had my baby about 10wks. ago, but this topic is still relevant to me.

Thank you Mera. This is exactly what I think. I was never concerned about any comments before I got pregnant. I was always 100% sure that what I had is what I need. However, since it is my first time being I am open to any suggestions and comments. Dr. Hebert Shelton wrote that iron supplements is a poison. I do not blame my friends for their honest believe that all pregnant women must consume pre-natal vitamins, meat and milk to nourish a baby. This is what they did during their pregnancies and, apparently, it worked for them.
Tell me a bit about your pregnancy experience. What did delivery go? Did you do it in a hospital or home? What was your diet during pregnancy? Everything is of interest to me.

Also, I would like to share my experience from the past. When I was 19 year old (back in Belarus) I stopped having periods. This was the time when I came to US for a summer program and ate american meat and other junk food. When I got back to Belarus I went to a doctor who did some tests and referred me to a specialist because he couldn't diagnose the problem. After numerous tests with a chronic Amenoria. My body was not producing enough estrogen and my doctor told me - unless I start estrogen injections I will never have periods or get pregnant. I was so scary that I leaned how to inject myself with hormones because I didn't want to see my doc again. I did it for three months. Although I had my periods I was miserable and depressed all the time. I decided to stop for the sake of myself and people around me. Essentially, I have chosen not to have babies according to my doctor. Then I came to US and went to a law school here. One of the requirements of the school admission was various tests and a letter from a doctor that I am healthy. While doing so I decided to do a hormone test one more time and to confess to an american doctor and I have amenoria. Sure enough, an american doctor told me that, unless I start taking hormones I can have uterus cancer in future. This was my last time going to a gynecologist before I got pregnant. In school there were plenty of muslim students who were observing Ramadan. Although I am not muslim, I decided to join them because I wanted to fast in a community, who do it not because they are dieting but because there is something spiritual that drive their ability to fast. I did. On the fifteenth day of the fast I got my period without any medications. What a miracle. During the fast, I had one meal a day (after the sunset) and 50% of the meal were dates. And now I am almost seven month pregnant with my fist baby. The point that I am trying to make here is not that fasting is a cure to all our health problems. Always believe in your body and its natural ability to heal. If a doctor says to you that you cannot have a baby it doesn't mean that you can. Maybe it because you are not there yet or doing something wrong with your body. I didn't have periods for 5 years, did not produce estrogen and according to the reseach, my uterus was undeveloped. Believe in your body and what others say to you

In Reply to: Anemia and pregnancy posted by Kara on June 7, 2010 at 12:03 pm:

Kara,
Anemia, or relative anemia, is relatively common during pregnancy, as
I am sure you know. So what matters is the degree of anemia, not just
the anemia itself. It may be mild enough to ignore. How do you feel?

As for switching to a raw diet, good for you. Better to get those toxins
out than have them within. Be sure to eat lots of greens. Most folks
fall short in that area.

Have you read The 80/10/10 Diet yet?
There are no quick fixes, and you only have a few weeks of pregnancy
left. If you are severely anemic, you may want to consider
supplementing for a few weeks, just to get you over this hump, and
reduce risks of bleeding during the birth.

I am 27 weeks along and had the same problem as you, everybody was scarying me about not giving sufficient nutrients to my baby. But my doctor told me that my blood tests were very good, no deficiency at all and I am not even 100% raw. The problem is I just cant be the whole day on fruit. Before my pregnancy I made green smoothies but I dont like them now. I cant eat so many calories in fruit, its not possible right now.

I dont take any prenatal vitamins, although when everybody scared me I took folic acid and some omega 3. No I dont take anything, and I eat just 1200 calories from fruit a day. I know its very little, but how to increase it, I dont know, somehow Im not into fruit that much. However I feel quite healthy - compared to my pregnant friend who are often ill and take even prenatals.

I hope that my baby gets all the nutrients it needs. My last blood tests were some 2 - 3 months ago, so now I dont know whether all the levels are OK, let´s just hope.

Congratulations! I am 34,5 weeks now;) I am doing fine. Do not worry, I am eating just as many calories are you are and not all from fruits:) Although this site is about 3000 calories, it is my opinion that only people who exercise daily should be following it. As for me, my exercise is now limited to running (about 3 miles three times a week) and bikram yoga (one or twice a week). So, I do not think I need that many calories. Moreover, my stomach is now working differently. It is being squeezed and cannot hold much food. As to vitamins, never took them. I drink freshly squeezed OJ every morning and try to be under the sun as much as possible for my vitamin D. With greens, the only green I can eat is arugula and romaine. So, once in a while I make salads. Once in a while I eat steamed veggies (steamed cauliflower is my fav) and on couple of occasions I had mozzarella cheese from my bf's plate. Apples (honey crisp) is my favorite food now. I eat them daily (couple of pounds a day). I also eat more avocados than I used to. I am not saying that this is a perfect diet for a preggo, but it works for me. I feel balanced, never hungry and have plenty of energy. This is my first pregnancy, so I will let you know about labor after I have one:) I gained 19 pounds so far. Probably will gain couple more in the next three or four weeks. No stretch marks so far. Keep me posted and do not worry about not being a 100%. Your emotional well being is more important now. Just try not to eat any processed food and additives. Slightly cooked veggies will give as much comfort as you will crave for. Also, I do not crave nuts, but slightly steamed chick peas taste so good. And, believe me, after being raw for over 8 years, I do not feel much much heavier or weaker on eating cooked veggies. So, target raw but do not worry about cooked. Eat, move on, be positive and give plenty of fresh air to your baby:)

Thank you som much for these positive words, Julia. I needed to hear it.

ALso congratulations to you. Yes, I am very curious about your labour, so please keep me updated. I would like to give birth at home, with my husband and a birth assistant. I didnt feel like giving birth alone as it is my first baby. And my parents are horrified at this idea. And what about you - if I am not too impertinent to ask? I am sick of people scarying me about everything I do.

Unfortunately, I live in a country where there is no sun in winter, every day is foggy here, rain or snow and cold (for 1 month now). So vit. D is the only vitamin I am afraid I could be deficient. But I dont want to supplement I just dont believe in it. I hope my body will somehow cope with it. And I dont feel like going out too much into that cold!